Voice for the Voiceless

Timeline

Submission period

Mon Apr 20 at 4 AM UTC

End of submission period

Sun May 31 at 6:59 AM UTC

Results date

Mon Jun 15 at 4 PM UTC

Chelsea Hollow, soprano and operatic activist is accepting proposals for contemporary classical settings of texts by activists. Poetry, speeches, tweets, and any words intended to activate the listener are welcome to be proposed. Composers of any age, nationality, and geographical location are welcome to propose works in any language for soprano and piano (recordings, electronics, vocoder, etc. are encouraged and not at all necessary). Text should be set in the original language, but exceptions will be considered. Proposals can be for single song settings or for a set/cycle and composers can propose a fee between $500-2000, appropriate to the scope of their proposal.

Chelsea Hollow strives to be an operatic activist in her performance and as the curator of Voice for the Voiceless, a recital project presenting works that add empathy to our public discourse and inspire collective growth within the community. She enjoys working with composers to create inventive new works of music in any language and loves exploring genre-crossing within a structure which is classically driven.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
1. Applicants can be any age, nationality, or level of experience. (If English is a barrier, please contact Chelsea in your language of choice and she'll try her best to accommodate your application translation needs.)

2. Proposals can be for single songs or a set/cycle.

3. Compositions should not yet be completed by the time of application.

4. Text should be in the original language. Translations will be considered but original is preferred. See text ideas below for inspiration.

5. Works proposed should be for soprano and piano (acapella, electronics, recordings, also accepted.) For vocal range suggestions please visit https://www.chelseahollow.com/rangeguide

6. Fee proposed should be appropriate to the composition size. (~$500-2000)

2. Written proposal for new work addressing how it will fit into our project of Voice for the Voiceless and a description of ideas for your composition. A brief sketch of musical materials is preferred but is not required. PLEASE DO NOT SEND COMPLETED WORKS.

3. Statement of proposed commission compensation ($500-2000).

4. Sample .pdfs of recent works. Vocal works are preferred but not necessary. Sound samples or realizations of the works submitted are also encouraged but not required.

5. Please submit by email to chelseahollow@gmail.com with the subject: "Call for Proposals 2020".

6. Submissions due by May 30, 2020, 11:59 p.m. PDT.

7. Submissions that are incomplete by the due date will be disqualified.

8. There is no fee to apply.

SELECTION PROCESS
1. June 15th, 2020: composers will be narrowed down to a small group of finalists. All applicants will receive an email update of their status. At this time, additional materials may be requested from those selected finalists.

2. July 1st, 2020: winning submissions will be selected and all remaining participants will be notified by email.

3. Half of the commission fee will be dispersed to each selected composer as soon as their contracts are signed.

4. Works must be completed by October 1st, 2020.

5. Remaining half of commission fee will be sent to each composer upon completion of their piece/work.

6. All works will receive a performance in San Francisco, CA in the 2021/22 season. Composers will receive video and audio recordings of each performance. If performances are not possible in the 2021/22 season due to Covid-19, recordings will be made and distributed.